Table of Contents
What Is An NFL Margin/Underdog Pool?
Margin pools are a simple NFL football pool format that rewards members for picking a winning team each week. Pool commissioners can decide whether they award points equal to a winning team’s margin of victory or the point spread for that game.
When an administrator chooses the point spread option, this format is often referred to as an NFL Underdog Pool. This type of pool is a great way to make sure that all members have a chance to win, regardless of their knowledge of the sport. And, it is a great way to add some excitement to watching the games each week.
Margin of Victory Vs Point Spread
Margin of Victory
In the margin of victory pool type, you will receive your points depending on the number of points your chosen team wins by. Essentially, you make your pick Picks straight up, meaning you make them without using a point spread system.
For example: If the New England Patriots wins by 7 points against the Buffalo Bills, you will receive 7 points, or if the New York Jets win by 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders, you will receive 4 points.
Point Spread
In the point spread pool type, or underdog pool, you will receive points equal to the covered point spread. Covering the spread means that a team has won the point spread.
For example: If you picked the Seattle Seahawks to win against the Atlanta Falcons by an assigned spread of -7.5, then they will need to win by at least 8 points in order for you to win.
Margin Pool Strategies
In an NFL margin pool, participants try to correctly predict the winning margin of each game. The person with the most points at the end of the season wins the pool. There are a few different strategies that can be used to try to win an NFL margin pool.
- Focus on games where one team is a heavy favorite. These games are often high-scoring affairs, rankings, and the winning margin is often less than what the oddsmakers predict.
- Another strategy is to focus on games where two evenly matched teams are facing off. These games are often low-scoring, and the winning margin is often more than what the oddsmakers predict.
- In general, it is important to remember that blowouts are relatively rare in NFL games. While there may be a few games each week where one team wins by a wide margin, the vast majority of games are decided by 7 points or less. As a result, it is often best to avoid picking large margins of victory, as they are less likely to occur. Instead, it is often best to focus on picking close games where you feel confident about the winner.
- You can also choose to focus on divisional games. These games are often closely contested, and the winning margin is often less than what the oddsmakers predict.
Whichever strategy you choose, be sure to do your research and stay up to date on all the latest news, standings, and information about each team. With a little luck, you may just find yourself in first place at the end of the season.
Customizing Your Margin/Underdog Pool with RunYourPool.com
RunYourPool makes it easy for you to become a commissioner and start your very own NFL Margin/Underdog Pool. The site gives you numerous options to customize your Margin Pool for your poolies like:
- Choosing your pool’s scoring system (margin of victory vs point spread, deducting points for losses vs zero points, and more…)
- You can allow your poolies multiple pick entries per member account or limit members to a single entry
- You can choose which week you want to start your pool
- You can set your pool to automatically make pick assignments (in case your members forget to pick)
- You can allow members to pick an NFL team more than once
RunYourPool.com Makes It Easy to Start Planning Your NFL Season
Are you looking for a fun and easy way to add excitement to your NFL Sunday? If so, then you should check out RunYourPool.com. At RunYourPool.com, you can customize your own NFL pool, choosing from a variety of different options. You can choose to have a pick’em pool, where everyone picks who they think will win each game, or a survivor pool, where players pick one team to win each week and stay in the pool as long as their team keeps winning. You can also choose the size of your pool, the number of weeks it will run, and whether or not there will be a prize for the winner. Best of all, setting up your pool is quick and easy! So what are you waiting for? Sign up today and start making your picks!
